Floor lamp

ABSTRACT

A glass globe is supported on a pair of metallic sleeves riding two arcuate, parallel metal rods which terminate at two bases, one of these bases containing a step-down transformer by which the two rods may be energized with low-voltage current. A bulb inside the globe has terminals connected to the two sleeves so as to light upon closure of a switch; the globe can be immobilized anywhere along the guidepath represented by the two rods and may be blackened at the top to emit light only downwardly.

United States Patent 1191 Trassinelli FLOOR LAMP [75] Inventor: Duccio Trassinelli, Firenze, Italy [73] Assignee: SormaniS.p.A.,Arasio (Como),

Italy [22] Filed: Aug. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 284,906

[52] US. Cl. 240/81 BS, 240/10 R, 240/DIG. 3,

339/9 [51] Int. Cl F21s 1/12 [58] Field of Search 240/81 BS, 81 BC,

240/81BD, 81 R, DIG. 3, 10 R, 25; 339/9, 21 S, 22 T; 191/22, 29, 32

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,635,611 6/1927 de la Lama 240/25 2,l2l,460 Waters 240/DIG. 3

14 1 July 24, 1973 3,104,065 9/1963 Bieber et 51 240/81 R x 3,601,598 8/1971 I-lorn 240/81 11 x 3,680,030 7/1972 Johnson 339/21 s x Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Edna M. Bero Attorney-Karl F. Ross [57] ABSTRACT A glass globe is supported on a pair of metallic sleeves riding two arcuate, parallel metal rods which terminate at two bases, one of these bases containing a step-down transformer by which the two rods may be energized with low-voltage current. A bulb inside the globe has terminals connected to the two sleeves so as to light upon closure of a switch; the globe can be immobilized anywhere along the guidepath represented by the two rods and may be blackened at the top to emit light only downwardly.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FLOOR LAMP My present invention relates to a lighting fixture such as a floor lamp designed to illuminate furniture or other articles from various angles.

The object of this invention is to provide a floor lamp or similar fixture of simple construction which can be adjusted to different levels above the floor, as well as to different angles of illumination, and which can be easily adapted to a variety of situations.

A lighting fixture embodying my invention comprises a pair of spaced-apart bases resting on a foundation such as the floor of a room, which are bridged by two parallel conductors curved in rising arcs above the foundation. A source of electric current, preferably of low voltage (e.g. up to 24 V.) for safetys sake, is connected across these conductors, advantageously in the form of a step-down transformer in one of the bases whose primary can be plugged into a utility outlet of I ID or 220 V. A pair of sliders mechanically and conductively engage the conductors for displacement along their arcs, the sliders supporting a lamp body which is disposed between the conductors and is electrically connected to the current source through these conductors and the sliders.

Such an arrangement allows the lamp body to be slid into any position along the arcuate guidepath defined by the conductors; this guidepath may be easily modified if each of these conductors consists of detachably interfitted, preferably rod-shaped segments and/or is sufficiently flexible to allow the spacing of the bases to be varied.

According to a more specific feature of my invention, the lamp body comprises a transparent envelope (of glass or synthetic resin) provided in its interior with one or more bulbs which may be fixedly or adjustably mounted therein. l prefer to make the envelope spherical, not only for the sake of appearance but also for easier balancing on an axis defined by a pair of gudgeons integral with the two sliders whereby the light rays from the bulb or bulbs may be emitted in different directions from a selected location.

The above and other features of my invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floor lamp embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view (partly in section) of a pair of interfitted metal rods forming part of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional detail view taken on the line III III of FIG. 1 but drawn to a larger scale; and

FIG. 4 is another cross-sectional detail view, also drawn to a larger scale, taken on the line IV IV of FIG. 1.

The floor lamp illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a pair of spaced-apart bases 1 1, 12 of sufficient weight to give stability to the structure. The two bases are bridged by a pair of arcuate spans l3, 14 of good electrical conductivity, e.g. of copper, each divided into several sections 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d and 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d. As particularly illustrated for two of these sections (13b, 13c) in FIG. 2, they are detachably interconnected with the aid of mating male and female terminations, i.e. bores 13 at one end and pins 13" at the other end, which engage each other with a tight fit so as to form a continuous structure. Given a certain flexibility of these rods, the shape of the spans 13 and 14 may be altered by the moving of some of the sections or inserting additional ones with or without relocation of the bases ll, 12.

The two spans 13 and 14 slidably support respective sleeves l5 and 16, also of highly conductive metal such as copper, which together carry a glass globe 17 by means of extensions 15', 16' lying on a common diameter of the globe; these extensions form gudgeons around which the globe can be swung into different positions, being held by friction or by nonillustrated fastening means in a selected attitude with reference to the sleeve axis. The sleeves l5 and 16, in turn, can be immobilized by screws l8, l9 anywhere along the arcuate guidepath defined by the spans 13 and 14.

A bulb 20 (FIG. 3) inside globe 17 is seated in a socket 21 provided with an on-off switch 22; the terminals of the socket are connected via wires 23, 24 within the globe to gudgeons l5 and 16', respectively, for energization of bulb 20 (in 'the closed position of switch 22) from a low-voltage source disposed in base 12. As illustrated in FIG. 4, this source comprises a step-down transformer 25 with a primary winding connectable through a cable 26 and a plug 27 (FIG. 1) to a wall socket; wires 28, 29 extend from the secondary winding of transformer 25 to conductors 13 and 14, respectively. Although these two conductors and the internal wiring have been shown insulated from ground by a dielectric housing 12' forming part of base 12, it will be understood that one of these conductors could also be grounded.

Aside from the leads 23, 24 inside globe l7 and 28, 29 in base 12, no wires are used anywhere on the structure 10. In particular, this structure is not encumbered by any exposed wiring which could interfere with the movement of the lamp body 17, 20 along its guidepath or impede the disassembly and reassembly of the rod segments 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, the upper hemisphere of globe 17 may be blackened or otherwise rendered opaque to concentrate the emitted light on the region beneath the spans.

If the floor lamp I0 is designed to reach across a coffee table, for example, a convenient length for each segment 13a etc. is from one to two meters.

As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the base 12, as well as the base 11, has a bottom plate 12" of cast iron or other heavy material (e.g. marble) designed to stabilize the structure.

Supplemental fasteners, not shown, may be provided along the spans l3, 14 to hold their segments together. Thus, the guide sleeves 15, I6 need not be continuously cylindrical but may be formed with longitudinal slots to clear webs or studs on the ends of the rod segments carrying these fasteners.

I claim:

1. A lighting fixture comprising;

a pair of spaced-apart bases resting on a foundation;

two curved parallel conductors bridging said bases in arcs rising above said foundation;

a source of electric current connected across said conductors;

a pair of sliders engaging said conductors for displacement along said arcs, said sliders forming conductive extensions of said conductors; and

a lamp body supported by said sliders between said conductors, said lamp body being electrically connected to said source through said sliders and said form a pair of gudgeons on a common diameter of the conductors. sphere. 2. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said source 7 A fi tur as d fi d i l i 1 wherein i comprises a step-down transformer in one of said bases. ductors are composed of detachable interf-med 3. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said lamp 5 body comprises a transparent envelope and a bulb in said envelope.

ments.

8. A fixture as defined in claim 7 wherein said seg- 4. A fixture as defined in claim 3 wherein said envemems are rod-Shaped lope is provided with an Opaque upper surface. 9. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said sliders 5. A fixture as defined in claim 3 wherein said enve- 10 are Provided with fastening means for immobilizing lope is heri al, said lamp body in any selected position along said arcs.

6. A fixture as defined in claim 5 wherein said sliders 

1. A lighting fixture comprising; a pair of spaced-apart bases resting on a foundation; two curved parallel conductors bridging said bases in arcs rising above said foundation; a source of electric current connected across said conductors; a pair of sliders engaging said conductors for displacement along said arcs, said sliders forming conductive extensions of said conductors; and a lamp body supported by said sliders between said conductors, said lamp body being electrically connected to said source through said sliders and said conductors.
 2. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said source comprises a step-down transformer in one of said bases.
 3. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said lamp body comprises a transparent envelope and a bulb in said envelope.
 4. A fixture as defined in claim 3 wherein said envelope is provided with an opaque upper surface.
 5. A fixture as defined in claim 3 wherein said envelope is spherical.
 6. A fixture as defined in claim 5 wherein said sliders form a pair of gudgeons on a common diameter of the sphere.
 7. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said conductors are composed of detachable interfitted segments.
 8. A fixture as defined in claim 7 wherein said segments are rod-shaped.
 9. A fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said sliders are provided with fastening means for immobilizing said lamp body in any selected position along said arcs. 